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INDIAN AFFAIRS
Delhi becomes first city to roll-out Euro VI fuel
On 1st April 2018, Delhi started supplying Ultra-clean Euro-VI or Bharat Stage (BS)-VI grade petrol and diesel without any additional cost in order to curb air pollution.
Delhi becomes first city to roll-out Euro VI fuel:
i. Delhi has become the first city in India to switch from Euro-IV grade petrol and diesel to Euro-VI grade petrol and diesel.
ii. Cities in the national capital region like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad and 13 major cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune will switch to Euro-VI grade fuel from 1st January 2019.
iii. Rest of India will switch to Euro-VI grade fuel from April 2020. Euro-VI grade fuel is estimated to cost nearly 50 paisa a litre more. But customers are not charged any additional cost.
iv. Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh, Panipat refinery in Haryana, Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh and Bhatinda refinery in Punjab are currently supplying Euro-VI grade fuel to Delhi.
v. In 2015, India had decided to switch to Euro-VI grade fuel from the current Euro-IV grade fuel from April 2020. Now, the government has planned to switch to Euro-VI grade fuel directly.
vi. The Euro-VI or BS-VI grade fuel contains 10 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur whereas Euro-IV or BS-IV grade fuel contains 50 ppm of sulphur.
About Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL):
♦ Chairman – Sanjiv Singh
♦ Corporate Office – New Delhi
114th Indus Commission meet held in New Delhi
114th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) took place in New Delhi on 29th and 30th March, 2018.
More information about 114th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC):
i. The meeting focused on technical deliberations on various issues related to Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan.
ii. Indian side that took part in this meeting comprised Indus water commissioner P.K. Saxena, technical experts and a representative of the Union Ministry of External Affairs, while Pakistani delegation was led by Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah.
iii. Last PIC meeting was held in Islamabad, Pakistan in March 2017.
Facts about Indus Waters Treaty (IWT):
♦ IWT is a bilateral treaty between India and Pakistan that lays out terms and conditions for sharing waters of Indus River System.
♦ It was signed in year 1960 between the then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and the then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan. The World Bank played a crucial role as a mediator.
♦ The treaty also brought into existence ‘Permanent Indus Commission’ for resolving any future disputes relating to the treaty.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
US, South Korea begin “Foal Eagle drill” army drills amid diplomatic thaw
On April 1, 2018, United States and South Korea kicked off the annual military exercise ‘Foal Eagle drill’. 
More Details about ‘Foal Eagle drill’:
i. Nearly 11500 American and 290000 South Korean troops will be participating in a month-long a series of field training exercises to be held under ‘Foal Eagle drill’.
ii. Earlier, the drill was to be held in February 2018. However, it was delayed in order to avoid a clash with Winter Olympic Games 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
iii. This edition of ‘Foal Eagle drill’ will be a low-key event, featuring fewer strategic weapons, as North Korea has proposed to hold summits with the South Korea and US, which has in turn eased the tension and diplomatic rhetoric on Korean peninsula.
Quick Facts about South Korea:
♦ Capital – Seoul
♦ Currency – South Korean won
♦ Current President – Moon Jae-in
♦ Important Rivers – Nakdong, Geum, Hantan
BANKING & FINANCE
Allahabad Bank cuts lending rates by 45 bps
On 31st March 2018, Allahabad Bank announced that, it has reduced the base rate and benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 45 basis points each.
Allahabad Bank cuts lending rates by 45 bps:
i. The Asset Liability Management Committee (ALCO) of Allahabad bank decided to decrease base rate and BPLR (benchmark prime lending rate) by 45 basis points.
ii. Allahabad Bank has reduced base rate to 9.15 per cent from 9.60 per cent. BPLR has been reduced to 13.40 per cent from 13.85 per cent.
iii. These revised rates will be effective from 2nd April 2018. This move will reduce EMIs for its borrowers.
About Allahabad Bank:
♦ CEO & MD – Usha Ananthasubramanian
♦ Headquarters – Kolkata
BUSINESS
India becomes world’s second largest mobile phone producer: ICA
As per information shared by Indian Cellular Association (ICA) with Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, India is now the second largest mobile phone producer in the world after China.
Mobile Phone production in India:
i. ICA’s claim was based on data available from market research firm IHS, China’s National Bureau of Statistics and Vietnam General Statistics Office.
ii. With 11 million units produced in 2017, India replaced Vietnam as the second largest producer of mobile phones in 2017.
iii. It is to be noted that annual production of mobile phones in India in 2014 was just 3 million units.
iv. On account of rise in domestic production, imports of the devices in India also reduced to less than half in 2017-18.Â
v. Fast Track Task Force (FTTF), a body under Union Ministry of Electronics and IT, has set target to achieve around 500 million mobile phone production in India by 2019.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Mithali Raj adjudged ‘Sportsperson of the Year’
On 31st March 2018, Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj was honoured with the ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ award at the Telangana Sports Journalists Association annual awards for 2017, in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Mithali Raj – Sportsperson of the Year:
i. Mithali Raj’s parents received the Sportsperson of the Year award on her behalf from BV Papa Rao, Advisor to the Telangana government.
ii. The ‘best senior male athlete’ award was presented to shuttler Kidambi Srikanth by former BCCI president N Shivlal Yadav.
iii. The ‘best senior female athlete’ award was handed to shuttler P V Sindhu by tennis player Sania Mirza.
iv. The ‘best coach of the year’ award was given to Pullela Gopichand for the second consecutive time, by former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman.
Other awardees:
1.Hockey player N Mukesh Kumar – Lifetime Achievement award
2.Hyderabad Cricket team – ‘team of the year’ award
3.Gymnast B Aruna Reddy – outstanding achievement award
Some important stadiums in Telangana:
♦ M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium – Hyderabad
♦ Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium – Hyderabad
♦ Gachibowli Indoor Stadium – Hyderabad
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
BCCI appoints former Rajasthan DGP Ajit Singh as head of its Anti Corruption Unit
On March 31, 2018, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed former Rajasthan DGP, Ajit Singh as the Head of its Anti-Corruption Unit.
Ajit Singh appointed as head of BCCI’s Anti Corruption Unit:
i. Ajit Singh will replace former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, who has been assigned advisory role in the ACU till May 31, 2018.
ii. Mr. Singh has served in Indian Police Service (IPS) for 36 years. He is experienced in anti-corruption operations, investigative work and field policing.
iii. He has also been the head of Rajasthan’s anti-corruption bureau.
iv. Mr. Singh’s appointment has been made just ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL), scheduled to commence from April 7, 2018.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
ISRO confirms it has lost contact with GSAT-6A satellite
On April 1, 2018, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stated that it has lost contact with GSAT-6A, the latest communication satellite, which was launched on board Geosynchronous rocket GSLV-F08 on March 29, 2018.
Contact with GSAT-6A lost:
i. Contact with GSAT-GA was lost while preparing it for the third and final orbit-raising firing. ISRO is now trying to establish link with the satellite again.
ii. GSAT-6A has been built by ISRO and is similar to the GSAT-6 put into orbit in 2015.
iii. GSAT-6A was to provide mobile communication to India through, multi-beam coverage facility.
iv. It weighs 2140 kg and has mission life of 10 years.
Quick Facts about ISRO:
♦ Established in – 1969
♦ Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
♦ Current Chairman – Dr. K. Sivan
China’s Tiangong-1 space lab set to hit Earth
China’s Tiangong-1 (English translation – “Heavenly Palace”) space station is set to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere between 1st and 2nd April 2018.
About Tiangong-1 space lab:
i. Launched in September 2011, Tiangong-1, represented China’s goal to establish a permanent space station.
ii. However, in 2017, China informed United Nations that Tiangong-1 had ceased functioning in March 2016.
iii. Thus China launched Tiangong-2 space lab in September 2016, which was successfully put into orbit post launch.
iv. Currently, Tiangong-1 is orbiting the Earth at a height of 196.4 kilometres.
v. Scientists are not sure as to where Tiangong-1 would come down on Earth, but it is likely to burn up in the atmosphere during its re-entry and would thus not pose any risk.
Quick Facts about China:
♦ Capital – Beijing
♦ Currency – Renminbi
♦ Current President – Xi Jinping
♦ Important Rivers – Yangtze, Yellow River
OBITUARY
Film director C.V. Rajendran passes away
On 1st April 2018, film director CV Rajendran died after a long term illness at a private hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Death of C.V. Rajendran:
i. C.V. Rajendran was 81 years old. He has directed several movies in Tamil. He has also directed movies in Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu.
ii. His popular movies are: Sumathi En Sundari, Vani Rani, Garjanai, Ullasa Paravaigal and Vaazhkai.
Some National Parks in Tamil Nadu:
♦ Mudumalai National Park
♦ Guindy National Park
♦ Karian Shola National Park
IMPORTANT DAYS
Odisha Formation Day – April 1
On 1st April 2018, the Odisha Formation Day also known as Utkal Dibasa or Utkal Divas was celebrated all over Odisha.
Utkal Dibasa:
i. Utkala Dibasa is celebrated on 1st April every year to mark the formation of Odisha as a separate province on 1st April 1936. Odisha separated from the combined Bengal-Bihar-Orissa province on that day.
ii. Various government and non-government organisations conducted programmes to mark the occasion. This day is a restricted holiday in Odisha.
iii. Utkala Gaurav Madhusudan Das, Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das, Maharaja Shri Ramachandra Bhanjadeo, Maharaja Shri Krushna Chandra Gajapati, Raja Baikunthanath Dey, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Gangadhar Meher, and Gourishankar Ray were instrumental in the formation of Odisha.
iv. On 9th November 2010, the Indian Parliament renamed Orissa as Odisha and Oriya language as Odia.
About Odisha:
♦ Governor – Satya Pal Malik
♦ Chief Minister – Naveen Patnaik
♦ Capital – Bhubaneswar
